Nightsintdreams (2009 PoM)

November 2009 Player of the Month

Profile

Real Name: Quentin

Age: 23 years old.

Character Name: Nightsintodream

Character Race: Hume, Male.

Character Job(s): White Mage, Summoner, Bard, Red Mage.

Nation: The Federation of Windurst.

Rank: 10.

Server: The one who tears apart boulders with its teeth, Shark Gray! The one who envelops all thirst, Water Blue! And finally, the one who feeds on empty space, Crusher White! Cry out...Bismarck! (I'm a Final Fantasy: Unlimited fan, what can I say?)

Questionnaire

Besides Final Fantasy XI, what other MMORPGs have you played and how do they compare to Final Fantasy XI?

The only one I can say I put an honest amount of time into was a game called Ragnarok Online, where I ended up on a private server named Symphonia (my girlfriend at the time was a developer for it). It was not bad, I was a Mage who mostly spent his time sitting in the sky in Kunlun...

To compare it to FFXI...

On that RO server, the community was as tight-knit as my home on Vana'diel, and the music and scenery was just as beautiful. I have happy memories of it, despite the server no longer being there. I also credit it with being what got me and yet another ex-girlfriend of mine to become friends again.

How did you find out about Final Fantasy XI, and when did you begin playing?

It all goes back to two games that I discovered while I was in high school, one named Wish and the other called .hack//Twilight.

.hack got me interested in the idea of an MMORPG, for the idea that I could play a game with a storyline...with other real people...working together and exploring the world, and connecting with each other appealed to me.

So I went online and looked for an MMO to play...and I found one named Wish. It was being developed by a company named Mutual Realms, and was supposed to be a UMMORPG, as in a game without servers or zones but just one unified world. The game was not due to be out for awhile however, so I picked up a game called Final Fantasy XI in the meantime to get myself used to playing MMOs (because I could play it on the PS2).

I started to play two days after I graduated high school, on June 2nd, 2004.

Do you know anyone in real life who plays Final Fantasy XI?

A good friend of mine that I went to high school with (and who was in fact my senior year prom date), played under the character of Kestrel. Other than that, there are some people that I consider to be as real life to me as possible, despite not having met...Ryashlynn, Cottontail/Chikogie, Klikevil, and the linkshell of Nightfallsfavor.

I have met a couple of my HNMLS' members irl as well, Memo and Macross.

How did you come up with your main character's name?

Way back in 1996, I was in a Toys R' Us...and there was a Sega Saturn set up with this game called NiGHTS: Into Dreams... playing on it. I sat there and played the game, falling instantly in love with the freedom that the purple jester had in flying around in a dreamscape, fighting off the Nightmarens.

The name 'NiGHTS' stuck with me, and in 2002, when I created my first e-mail address and started to go into chatrooms and post on message boards...I needed a name to use, so my online persona became the name 'Nights'.

When I started to play Final Fantasy XI, I sat there that first night trying to figure out a way to get my character to be able to have the name "Nights". Ultimately, I ended up going with Nightsintodream, hitting the character limit exactly.

What is your favorite job and why?

I am a White Mage.

Multiple reasons for this...

Partially due to the fact that it reflects my irl persona to try to help people as much as I can, and because of, in terms of role playing, the job and its ideals fits my role-playing persona as well perfectly.

Also, I love the complexity of the job. The thrill of having to be able to cure people, remove status effects, while keeping barspells, Haste, and Regen up on a party (or more) at once is simply exhilarating for me.

Which forum(s) do you frequent the most?

Forums on Alla? Or in general? Not very distinct...

For Allakhazam:

The General FFXI forum, the Bismarck Server forum, Site Feedback, and the Asylum (more browsing than posting for the most part...I happen to enjoy reading -or in Gbaji's case, skimming- differing views and opinions there).

I also have been known to live in the Planetside forum the desert town of Miranda from time to time, where zombies, tumbleweeds, and creepy music that no one can seem to find exists.

Outside of Allakhazam:

I am a vistor to Blue Gartr, Gamefaq forums where I read a lot about other games (Final Fantasy, Nintendo games, and whatnot), and OP9. I used to be a part of The Abh Nation, before they were forced to close down.

About how often do you play Final Fantasy XI and how long is a typical playing session for you?

I play practically every day, usually logged on after classes are over with. Now whether I am there or afk...that's a different matter.

I try my damnest to put my real life in front of my game life as much as possible, so my average day to day playing session time varies heavily. Usually though, I tend to be active at keyboard either when it's time for an LS event, someone is sending me a tell, or I'm trying to do something either for myself or a friend in game.

How do you spend your time in game?

Often, I end up doing endgame events with Lunarians (we do everything from Einherjar/Dynamis/Limbus to Sky/Sea/Ground and farming Pandemonium Warden), doing missions/quests, spending time with my in-game friends, occasionally role playing on Lakshmi server with CantaPerMe LS, or researching for my fanfiction.

The number of times I've re-watched the BRD AF storyline quests would numb anyone...x.x;

Do you craft? If so, what are your skill levels?

My craft is writing and glassblowing, if those count.

When I write, I prefer love stories because they are 1) the easiest for me to write, and 2) everyone can relate to it to some degree.

My glassblowing is sometimes inspired by Final Fantasy. A really good example of this is the goblet below, which was inspired by the noblity of the Wyrmking, Bahamut.

Approximately how much of Vana'diel have you experienced?

Thanks to both Lunarians and my friends, I've been able to see all of Vana'diel that there is.

I've been everywhere and done everything, from the rebirth of the Grand Marquisate of Tavnazia and the reactivation of Tu'Lia to striking down Absolute Virtue and Pandemonium Warden.

It's been a long journey so far, but it's been worth it.

What is your favorite expansion?

Chains of Promathia, no question.

The storyline was epic (in my opinion the best that Square-Enix has done in the past few years), it forced me to be a leader (I did it at a time when very people outside of the top-tier endgame was doing the expansion, building and running my own group through to the end with next to no info about a lot of the missions), and the expansion forced me to level my White Mage to 75 and become a better player.

Plus, Prishe is awesome.

What is your least favorite expansion?

I don't really have one...all of the expansions are good, just different. Square-Enix has done a really good job in that respect.

How far have you progressed in missions?

I have finished Rank 10 in Windurst, Completed 'The Last Verse' for Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia, finished Treasures of Aht Urhgan, finished both the regular Dynamis storyline and the Dreamworld Dynamis storyline, all of the Assault Missions, finished A Crystalline Prophency, finished A Moogle Kupo d'Etat, and all current Wings of the Goddess missions and nation quests.

I've even finished the more minor storyline missions...such as the Ashu Talif quest line, earning both my Rhinostery Certificate and my Mark of Einherjar, and I can summon both the Guardian of the Moon and the Keeper of Dreams using forbidden magic.

What is your favorite zone?

Very hard question...

I love being able to look out over the Sea of Shu'Meyo from Lower Jeuno and the Aurora Boreas on Qufim Island...

But I also love the giant trees overlooking The Sanctuary of Zi'tah, the multicolored shards in Empyreal Paradox, the swirling snow winds in the area where one is dropped after winning a mission fight or ENM in Uleguerand Range, to the Windurst of the past.

Who is your NPC hero and why?

Prishe.

She's (in her own words) survived beastman attacks, huge explosions, and the fall of Tavnazia...and yet she has never lost hope or her own internal light.

She is a very strong character, and a great ally in game...what's not to admire?

If Shantotto was your mom, give a good excuse for coming home 6 hours after curfew.

I was out late and I won't be a liar, but I was in Windurst Port helping to put out a fire!~

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!

Describe your most memorable moment or proudest accomplishment in game.

Probably when I finished Chains of Promathia, not only before I got Sky but by making my own group and running them through to the end.

That or one of Merodi's 'Gatherings' on Bismarck, a picture of which are listed elsewhere.

What is the largest amount of gil you have ever had at one time, and how did you go about accumulating it?

Outside of buying currency on behalf of others...probably upwards of six million gil (4,950,000 of which went for a Roundel Earring).

I earned the gil from Luna gilsplits, by teleporting for gil, and by (frankly) never having anything else to spend it on. It all builds up over time.

What are some things you would change or implement in order to improve Final Fantasy XI?

I'd like to get rid of BSTs losing claim on an NM when switching charmed pets, the fact that on the mission info screen there is still a mission listed for certain expansions despite all of the missions having been done, making the sending gil through the Delivery Box system still capped at one million gil for between accounts, but uncapped for characters within an account.

I'd also love to be able to merit down the casting time for Blindna, make my irl Vana'diel clock (the one that SE sold awhile back) keep accurate time, and get rid of SMN Astral Burn Parties without nerfing the job.

If you were stranded on Purgonorgo Isle what 5 items would you most want to have with you?

My Amber Earring that I got with Ryashlynn way back when I first started (and still have equipped to this day), my Moogle (I love the taste of sweet, SWEET innocent Moogle meat), my Lord's Yukata (that I got at Summerfest back in '04...gotta stay breezy and comfortable somehow), my linkpearls (Lunarians, Nightfallsfavor, and Rabies), and Nidhogg Scales (they gotta be used for something...).

How do you describe Final Fantasy XI to your coworkers or computer-illiterate friends?

It's an online game where I suffer, you suffer...we all suffer splendidly together because that is the Japanese way of MMOs. Also, Final Fantasy XI has one of the best storylines in Chains of Promathia that Square-Enix has done in recent years.

What is next for you in the world of Final Fantasy XI?

To play through and post a walkthrough for A Shantotto Ascension—The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born, continue doing endgame with my fellow Lunies (the Moonwalkers of Vana'diel), continue writing, working more on Wings of the Goddess, and spending time with my in-game friends.

In other words...gameplay as usual.

A Snapshot Into My Mog House

Finally winning the Bomb in BC in CoP after joining with another group to clear it.